Tennessee’s State Standards. Interim assessments,
persist at alarming rates.161 In grades 3-8 this year,
sometimes called benchmark assessments, take place
nearly 35,000 of the 450,000 students (8 percent)
between formative and summative assessments.
tested below basic in both math and English language
Interim assessments aim to evaluate students’
arts. All but 2,000 of these students fall into one
progress toward mastery on a set of specific
of our four historically underserved subgroups.162
academic goals or standards and are designed
Those groups include students who are economically
to provide results that inform decisions at the
disadvantaged, from African American, Hispanic, or
classroom, school, or district level.159 During SCORE’s
Native American backgrounds, English language
2015 Listening Tour, teachers, principals, and district
learners, and those with disabilities. Tennessee
leaders requested additional guidance and support
faces a moral and economic imperative to provide all
on the selection of high-quality interim assessments.
students access to high-quality education regardless
With the transition to TNReady, CORE Offices should
of their race or zip code. In order for Tennessee to
provide local districts and schools with
reach its goal of preparing all students for success in
additional guidance on the selection and
college and career and increasing the overall number
implementation of high-quality, aligned
of students with college degrees, education partners
interim assessments.160
across the state must place priority on supporting
ENSURE EQUITABLE OUTCOMES
FOR HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED
POPULATIONS. Develop and implement programs
academic growth for students of color and students
living in poverty. A sense of urgency must pervade
these efforts. This work will require consistent and
specific supports at the state and local levels that
and policies that will yield improved academic outcomes
aim to reach historically underserved populations in
for students of color and students living in poverty.
Tennessee schools.
These policies and programs should narrow and
eventually eliminate persistent achievement gaps in
Recruit and Retain Highly Effective Teachers in
Tennessee. While achievement gaps between students
High-Need Schools. Local foundations, communities,
of color and white students as well as between
and business partners should provide local school
economically disadvantaged
districts with funding that can be used to attract and
and non-economically
retain high-quality teachers in high-need schools.
disadvantaged students
Teacher turnover occurs at high rates, particularly
has narrowed over the past
in schools serving large populations of students
several years, achievement
living in poverty, students of color, and low-achieving
gaps between these groups
students.163
A recent evaluation of Governor Haslam’s
recruitment and retention bonus program for highly
effective teachers in priority schools found that Level
5 rated teachers who were offered a $5,000 bonus
48